• At a Glance: After giving up the first goal of the game yet again, the Canadiens didn’t give the Florida Panthers much else on Wednesday night en route to a 3-2 win at the Bell Centre. Panthers rookie Scott Timmins scored 7:30 into the first period for his first career NHL goal. The puck bounced around in front of Alex Auld before landing on Timmins’s stick for an easy tap in into the empty side of the net. Jeff Halpern got that one back for the Canadiens 4:50 into the second period when he deflected a P.K. Subban point shot beyong Panthers goalie Tomas Vokoun. In the third period, Tomas Plekanec took advantage of a turnover in the neutral zone to give the Canadiens the lead. He attacked the net and his shot went off Vokoun and into the air before bouncing off a Florida defenceman and crossing the goalline 5:46 into the period. Brian Gionta scored his 19th of the season to make it 3-1 when he collected the rebound off a great rush by Max Pacioretty and banked a shot off of Vokoun and into the net at the 11:32 mark. It was Gionta’s 199th career NHL goal. Stephen Weiss scored with 2:10 to play to make it 3-2 just after the end of a Canadiens penalty and with Vokoun on the bench for an extra attacker. Alex Auld earned his first win in front of his home fans and improved to 4-2 in seven starts this season.• What It Means: Montreal improves to 29-18-5 for 63 points, moving them into sixth place in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the New York Rangers with a game in hand. Montreal now trails the Washington Capitals by a point for fifth place.• What’s Next: The Canadiens play a pair of matinees during Super Bowl Weekend with games against the New York Rangers on Saturday and New Jersey Devils on Sunday.

I hope so, I hate A.Kost so much but I think he gets a lot heat, he stats compared to other guys aren’t that bad, he leads the team in hits, but his hockey IQ is so low that when he isn’t playing well its not like he is even playing. As for Eller, I think we can take out time with him, I don’t mind the moving him from center to the wing for the time being, maybe he can develop into a playmaking winger like Tanguay was early on.

I would not expect Cammy to be back for at least another week or two, last time they showed video of him practicing by himself he was very careful with his shoulder. He’s working to maintain fitness in his legs ATM more than getting ready to play.

I think BUF got stuck with the most B2B games this season, MTL has one more B2B this month, away-and-home with NYI-BOS next week than none until March 17th.

i think we’ll win both games.. I see Subban getting his points total up. He sounds very very confident and even analyses his errors with the aplomb to learn from them.

I am hoping Boone is right and that Eller and AK46 are developing some chemistry. If these two IG, skilled guys can combine on a line with chemistry and production, it would answer much of what ails our offence.

I always liked Arnott, however we already have the best Ex Devil! and another not so good. I really wouldn’t mind seeing what this team has deep within itself, If we are to make a trade I would love to have someone with some girth on the forecheck.

An ok win. Nothing to be too excited about. We need to start burying teams like Florida, and not hang onto a single goal lead with 2 minutes to go. Overall, not a bad game though. Boring as hell, but ok.

And would there be a game where Gomez doesn’t take a stupid retaliation penalty just cause he can’t take a hit or can’t stand getting roughed up in a corner a bit? Some leader.

Omsk is very good this year and fun to watch, Cervenka is amazing and Perezhogin is looking like he did when he first went to Salavat. Granted outside of the top 4-6 teams there isn’t a whole lot of competition, I would be suprised to not see Omsk at least in the semi-finals.

Those are some ridiculous stats. I think Brendan has rested his case. His previous, over-aged center was definitely not the sole reason he was producing. And Ramo…wow – that Desjardins deal looks like a steal right now, but I won’t get over-hyped just yet. Dirty statistics though.

No thank you..Old, broken down, and a bad back…We don’t need him..If that’s the case, just keep the assets and bring in Owen Nolan…I would MUCH rather Nolan over Arnott…Not saying I want either, but if you are going to dump assets for over the hill guys like Arnott, what difference would Nolan be for nothing?

Personally, I want CAL to drop out of the playoff race and go after Regher..IMO, we need a stay at home guy that can log big minutes before adding another forward..Pacioretty is filling in admirally and Cammy should be back soon..

RW Brendan Gallagher continues to be the most explosive offensive prospect for Montreal this season. Now has 34G, 36A in 52GP, he is scoring at a 1.64PPG average since the calender turned to 2011. He has 19 games on his schedule to match his career best of 41G, 40A last season, safe to say that old record is goin’ down.

KHL:

G Karri Ramo has only lost one game in his last eighteen starts. Let that sink in for a minute.

I don’t hate Gomer but in a perfect world, someone picks up his last two years in order to hit cap floor and we start the ’12-’13 season with Pouliot at center. Also, by that time, Eller has kicked it into gear and we have 3 scoring lines with a formidable 4th line featuring White and Enqvuist.

4th – in team scoring with 29 points (ahead of Gionta, Gomez, Pouliot…etc)

2nd – in +/- (1 behind Plekanec)

3rd – in shots with 128 trails only Gionta(203) and Plekanec(150)

T2nd – in game winning goals, only Gionta(5) has more

T3rd – in goals with 13

1st – in hits with 97 (19 up on second place Subban)

– Only 3 players (Darche, Gionta and Pyatt)have fewer penalty minutes among all hab’s players dressed for at least 40 games. keep in mind Kostitsyn has played 51. and his average ice time is higher then both Darches’ and Pyatts

-not sure if you’ve all noticed but Martin has had Kostitsyn on the ice in the final minute of most close games all year, especially lately. clearly he has the coaches trust.

I’m a long time reader but don’t usually post. Truth be told I’m not a big Kostitsyn fan myself, but whyyyyyyyyy are people always on this guys case? Is it because he was drafted in the 1st round? is it because he can barely speak english let alone french? Is it because of the incident involving the guy from the mob? or the fact he’s SK’s older brother? Maybe its because he looks like Chris from family guy. personally I have no idea what the reason or reasons may be but I know what there not. I know noone has a problem with his salary cuz compared to some of the other chumps on this team he’s beyond a bargain.

I’m aware his skills are as good as anyones on the team and he might not be putting up numbers like all of you wanted him to. When I look at our teams stats there isn’t a player beyond Darche who’s exceeded my expectations.

4th – in team scoring with 29 points (ahead of Gionta, Gomez, Pouliot…etc)

2nd – in +/- (1 behind Plekanec)

3rd – in shots with 128 trails only Gionta(203) and Plekanec(150)

T2nd – in game winning goals, only Gionta(5) has more

T3rd – in goals with 13

1st – in hits with 97 (19 up on second place Subban)

– Only 3 players (Darche, Gionta and Pyatt)have fewer penalty minutes among all hab’s players dressed for at least 40 games. keep in mind Kostitsyn has played 51. and his average ice time is higher then both Darches’ and Pyatts

-not sure if you’ve all noticed but Martin has had Kostitsyn on the ice in the final minute of most close games all year, especially lately. clearly he has the coaches trust.

I’m a long time reader but don’t usually post. Truth be told I’m not a big Kostitsyn fan myself, but whyyyyyyyyy are people always on this guys case? Is it because he was drafted in the 1st round? is it because he can barely speak english let alone french? Is it because of the incident involving the guy from the mob? or the fact he’s SK’s older brother? Maybe its because he looks like Chris from family guy. personally I have no idea what the reason or reasons may be but I know what there not. I know noone has a problem with his salary cuz compared to some of the other chumps on this team he’s beyond a bargain.

I’m aware his skills are as good as anyones on the team and he might not be putting up numbers like all of you wanted him to. When I look at our teams stats there isn’t a player beyond Darche who’s exceeded my expectations.

4th – in team scoring with 29 points (ahead of Gionta, Gomez, Pouliot…etc)

2nd – in +/- (1 behind Plekanec)

3rd – in shots with 128 trails only Gionta(203) and Plekanec(150)

T2nd – in game winning goals, only Gionta(5) has more

T3rd – in goals with 13

1st – in hits with 97 (19 up on second place Subban)

– Only 3 players (Darche, Gionta and Pyatt)have fewer penalty minutes among all hab’s players dressed for at least 40 games. keep in mind Kostitsyn has played 51. and his average ice time is higher then both Darches’ and Pyatts

-not sure if you’ve all noticed but Martin has had Kostitsyn on the ice in the final minute of most close games all year, especially lately. clearly he has the coaches trust.

I’m a long time reader but don’t usually post. Truth be told I’m not a big Kostitsyn fan myself, but whyyyyyyyyy are people always on this guys case? Is it because he was drafted in the 1st round? is it because he can barely speak english let alone french? Is it because of the incident involving the guy from the mob? or the fact he’s SK’s older brother? Maybe its because he looks like Chris from family guy. personally I have no idea what the reason or reasons may be but I know what there not. I know noone has a problem with his salary cuz compared to some of the other chumps on this team he’s beyond a bargain.

I’m aware his skills are as good as anyones on the team and he might not be putting up numbers like all of you wanted him to. When I look at our teams stats there isn’t a player beyond Darche who’s exceeded my expectations.

Gallagher still has to play in the AHL and NHL. Same for Ramo. Nevertheless, to see two Habs prospects excel in their current leagues is encouraging.

Players can fall out of the competition for playing time quickly though when moving onto the next level. Mayer is a good example. Fortunately, the Habs seem to be graduating more than before and less are dropping out. All hail the education system.

Good post. I think the dissenters are from the pro Boone crowd. He usually gets them riled up when he blogs and then they go on and on. I see no valid reason for the vitriol that AK46 is subjected on HIO, although there seems to be an inherent bias against Russian players in general in Montreal. The crap that AK46 had to endure concerning that “mob” fiasco would have been laughable if it had not been so sad. I can recall the journalists being front and center with this “hearsay” story. I know AK46 can play much better but why play for some team or city that clearly does not “have your back”. This guy will leave and he will go one to realize his full potential. We of course will left with the likes of Gomez, a selfish overpaid player who contributes nothing to this team. The pro Boone zealots of course will seek out another whipping boy. There should be a sign over the Canadiens locker room “Only English and French need apply”.

I was at the game and I’m not gonna lie: the first period was a serious buzzkill. Usually I don’t get out of my seat until the game is over. Last night I left to get food during the first intermission, that’s how much I needed to rub my eyes, run around, fill my stomach and think “I hope they can pull it together in the second”

They did pull it together in the second and I was very happy for that.

♪Your cares and troubles are gone. There’ll be no more from now on. From now on happy days are here again, the skies above are so clear again. So let’s sing a song of cheer again. Happy times, happy nights, happy days are here again♪

You convinced me. I was on the fence. I guess I just remember the grit of his early career. I dont want us to give up on drafts/prospects to bring in a young ‘annointed’ superstar. I really want experience steady ‘make the other guys better’ player.

I would be in Montreal the next day surveying my vantage point for the parade. I think Iggy would be outstanding in Montreal and with this team. Iggy would wear this uniform with PRIDE and excitement. He would be like 5 yrs younger in his heart and spirits.

Timo, expect a trade to improve our chances against a Philly soon. And when that happens I think Montreal will be a contender even against Philly…… providing of course JM allows the youth to keep coming out of their shell and doing what they were drafted for, which seems to be happening.